Happy New Year Eagles!
We are looking forward to welcoming our kindergarten through six grade students on Tuesday, January 19th for in-person learning! We are excited to see our students and are committed to providing a safe and active learning environment.
Our kindergarten through sixth grade students who are currently enrolled in the in-person/remote option are scheduled to return to classrooms on Tuesday, January 19. If your family chose the UCS Virtual Academy option, your student will continue their on-line instruction.
As we prepare for this transition, below are answers to some questions that you may have regarding this return to in-person instruction.
Student Schedule
Our kindergarten – sixth grade students will follow the ½ day AM and PM hybrid schedule (see attached hybrid document). Beginning week of January 25th through February 12th, we will be embedding a remote instructional day every Wednesday for all kindergarten – sixth grade students (see attached schedule). These days allow for more personalized instruction for our students. The schedule is critical to supporting our students and our school’s academic mission during this continued transition. We recognize that developmentally our students need consistency with learning routines, socialization, connecting with their teacher and classmates on a regular basis.
If you are a family that made the recent decision to begin the in-person option and have not already been notified of the AM or PM assignment, we will be sharing your child’s assignment with you shortly. The AM session is 8:20 – 11:00 and PM session is 12:30 – 3:10.
Safety Protocols
As a school and district, the health and safety of our students and staff remains the top priority. We need to work together to make sure that we can meet our goal of a return on January 19 and continue moving forward with increased in-person learning. Parents need to follow these safety protocols each morning and, if your child is experiencing any of these symptoms, please keep them at home. In the event that someone is diagnosed with COVID-19 and attends school, we are required to quarantine those students and teachers from their classroom into a remote setting. Working together, we can keep our students in the classroom and avoid any interruptions.
As a school, we will continue following the protocols that are important to keeping everyone safe, including encouraging frequent hand washing, use of sanitizers, distancing and wearing of face coverings. These protocols are all detailed in the updated parent handbook that is now on the district website.
Arrival and Dismissal
Students will line up outside of their classroom/designated area on the play pad. We will bring the students in when the bell rings. If you arrive late and see that students have already gone in, please come to the main front door.
Switzer designated areas:
- Slancik/ Crocenzi: Main Front doors
- Nicolai/ Pacini/ Kohl: Classroom doors
- Agnetti/ Smith/ Syler: Side playground by the dumpsters
- Nowinski/ Joss: Side entrance by the lost and found/teachers lounge
- Bradshaw/ Johnson/ Riedel: Side playground entrance by Shelby Road.
- Grades 4-6: Classroom Doors
** There are pink dots sprayed on the play pad that are six feet apart for students to line up at.
** We ask that parents say hello/goodbye at the fence. Staff will be outside directing students on where to line up. We will also help guide students to and from their bus.
At the end of the day, students will be dismissed directly from their designated areas. Parents who are picking up their student are encouraged to wait in their car until dismissal time. Please remember to practice social distancing and wear a mask. Students who will be using UCS transportation will be supervised as they walk to their bus.
Transportation
For families that are eligible for transportation services, times and routes are available at this link. We also encourage you to review this video with your children. It details the important safety procedures that students must follow in riding the bus.
Food Service
Elementary students in the AM and PM programs will be provided a grab and go breakfast and lunch at the end of their school day. Please refrigerate these meals once they come home. If you do not want your child to participate in this free meal program, please go to this link to disenroll. Unless otherwise noted in this opt-out form, food service will provide this service for your student.
Child Care
Our UCS Community Education Department will be providing School Age Child Care for families that may require a half-day service. More information is available at this link.
Your child’s teacher and I will continue sharing additional information as we move closer to our scheduled return date. If you have any questions, please feel free to reply to this e-mail jacob.palmer@uticak12.org or call the school office at 586-797-6400
We are very excited to welcome back our students!
Jacob Palmer
Principal